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1、Linguistics: A Course Book work sheetsInstructor: Cao LixinChapter 1 Invitations to LinguisticsTeaching Objectives:After studying this chapter, students should be able1. to have a general idea of what language and linguistics is respectively2. to understand the design features of language3. to have
2、a correct attitude towards the theories about the origin of language4. to understand the functions of language5. to understand the implication of the term linguistics 6. to know the branches of linguistics and7. to understand some important distinctions in linguistics.Key points:1. design features o
3、f language2. functions of language3. main branches of linguistics4. some important distinctions in linguisticsSession ALanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.Language is a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or wri
4、ting is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles.
5、 Language learning and use are determined by the intervention of biological, cognitive, psychosocial, and environmental factors.The following are some fundamental views about LANGUAGE, which you may instinctively agree without having thought about the reasons, or you may not agree at the moment. Fol
6、low this course and you will find they are discussed in more detail in the ensuing chapters.1. Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently and without instruction.2. Language operates by rules.3. All languages have three major components: a sound system, a system of lexicogrammar and a
7、 system of semantics.4. Everyone speaks a dialect.5. Language slowly changes.6. Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of jargons.7. Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals that use them.8. Writing is derivative of speech.Step 3 (Students in groups and
8、 then instructor summarizes) Aim: Discuss the design features of languageAs Bertrand Russell once observed: “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.” So what makes human language so complicated and flexible, so unrestrained by the immediate
9、context and so capable of creating new meanings, in a word, so distinctive from languages used by other species? The features that define our human languages can by called DFESIGN FEATURES (by Charles F Hockettoriginally 12 features). The following are the frequently discussed ones.arbitrariness dua
10、lity creativity displacement reflectiveness cultural transmissionInstructor presents the Design features of language on the Bb.1. ArbitrarinessAn example: river江、河fleuve (into the sea)/eiviere (branch)The widely accepted meaning of this feature, which was discussed by Saussure, first refers to the f
11、act that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning.(Whats in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo would, were he not Romeo calld,Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title.) ROMEO and JULIET SCENE II Act H
12、owever there seems to be different levels of ARBITRARINESS. 1. Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning2. Arbitrariness at the syntactic levelAccording to systemic-functionalists and American functionalists, language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level. The order of
13、 elements in a sentence follows certain rules, and there is a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the real happenings (iconicity). Therefore the functionalists hold that the most strictly arbitrary level of language exists in the distinctive units of sounds by which
14、we distinguish pairs of words like pin and bin, or fish and dish.3. conventionality“名无故宜，约之以命，约定俗成谓之宜，异于约则谓之不宜。名无固实，约之以命，约定俗成谓之实名”荀子正名The link between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of CONVENTION. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of language
15、 makes learning a language laborious. 2. Duality (of patterning)/ double articulation linguistique (Andr MARTINET)“By DUALITY is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has
16、its own principles of organization” (Lyons, 1982:20 Language and Linguistics )The property of duality then only exists in such a system, namely, with both elements (primary units) and units.Language is hierarchical. The lowest level consists of dozens of bits of meaningless sounds, which occur in chumps that we call syllables. A s
